Name: Barak Onyxtear

Father: Donnar Onyxtear

Mother: Dauble Onyxtear

Siblings: Alagh Onyxtear

D.O.B.: Hammer 3, 1327 DR

P.O.B.: Citadel Hulrand, the Vast; Home to the Greenrock Clan

On the 3^rd day of Hammer, 1327 Daleland Reckoning, the first cries of the second son of Donnar Onyxtear were heard echoing in the halls of Citadel Hulrand, deep in the Earthspur Mountains. Some joke that he was born with his axe in hand, others claim he punched the doctor right back when she slapped his backside. Regardless of whether or not these jokes and rumors are true (I wouldn’t hold much hope on the axe) he was born an unusually strong and healthy child. Thus prompting his name, Barak; literally, strength, backbone, or shield in the Dwarven tongue. In short, he was everything his father had hoped for.

His father, Donnar, had always hoped for a son who was strong; a miner, smith, and warrior. His first son, Alagh, had fallen, well to put it nicely, a bit short of those goals. Barak initially showed great promise in fulfilling Donnar’s hopes. His strength and hardiness were well above average, even for a Dwarf. From the time he was first able to tote an axe, Donnar set about teaching him his trades. As a miner, his strength and hardiness were awesome to behold, but alas, his short attention span and desire for excitement and glory made him rather lazy on the job. As a smith, he saw beauty in well made equipment, and quickly embraced weapon smithing and armor smithing. Yet his greatest passion was for the competition, sweat, blood, and glory of battle.

In short, his raw talent at battle made him the talk of many a dwarf in the Citadel. Tales of this young, feisty lad giving even some of the veterans a hard time in a bout grew quick and spread even quicker. Most of it was hype, as rumors often are, but even the most learned scholar will tell you that at the heart of every myth is the glimmer of truth that started it. Most of his time was spent training, as he could simply not get enough of it. This passion for battle alone made his father forgive any shortcomings he had as a miner. When he wasn’t busy sparring with trainers or fellow squires, he spent his time with his older brother, Alagh, who had taken a much more scholarly road in life. Most of their interaction consisted of story exchanging as well as sharing some of the lessons each had learned that day. But one thing that Alagh knew that fascinated Barak the most, were stories: war stories. Battles, wars, mighty kingdoms clashing on the battlefield, throwing hundreds of thousands of soldiers against each other, often times leaving traces on the earth that could be seen for eons. It excited him all the more with the knowledge that these were not just fairy tales... they had actually happened. He was overcome with a desire to be a part of such epics, to be in those great battles, fighting and making a mark on the history of the world. He always asked for more stories, and Alagh was always pleased to oblige.

Amongst the litany of tales that Alagh told him, one particular entity stood out: Kudjargh, the Dwarven Battle Ragers. Fierce combatants that loved nothing more than singing war hymns to Clangeddin... and charging headlong into battles after being granted a divine rage by the Dwarven gods of war. So fascinated was he by these tales, that he resolved to become one. Alas, he had only heard of them through stories, and it seemed that such a thing could only exist there. When he related this feeling to Alagh, a curious, knowing grin spread across Alagh’s face. When Barak asked him what was "so damn amusing" Alagh informed him that this order did exist. Not only in the world as a whole, but that some of them resided in their very Citadel. (1359 DR)

Barak was ecstatic. He immediately inquired as to where he could find them, but Alagh said he wasn’t entirely sure. He did know that they were usually "kept" on the outskirts of the Citadel, and that one could probably find them by following the sound of their singing... and drinking... and brawling... and general disorder. Barak left the library immediately to find his newfound heroes. And his searching was soon rewarded by the distant sounds of very, very loud drunken singing coming from even deeper in the mountain.

He arrived in an area much like the barracks of the city proper, only this one was obviously used much more, as the very stonework had many chips and scrapes; the signs of past battles. The singing was quite loud now, and the smell of sweat, booze, and a slight tinge of blood emanated from the main hall. Upon entering, he found no less than eight drunken, singing dwarves. All wearing well-used weapons and a vast arrangement of battle scars and tattoos. Then one of them noticed him. A shout of greeting was issued, and all of them closely encircled Barak, quickly shoving a mug in his hand and pulling him inside. Thus began Barak’s association with the Battle Ragers.

As Alagh had recently left for Raven’s Bluff to engage in his scholarly pursuits, Barak was unable to tell him of his success in befriending the Kudjargh, so he turned to his father for someone to talk to. The reaction, surprisingly enough, was akin to informing a red dragon that his horde was stolen. "KUDJARGH?!!? Do you know what that means??! It means "AXE-IDIOT" for a reason you crazy sod!" Indeed, Alagh had neglected to mention the bit about the Battle Ragers’ propensity for living very short lives as a result of their passion for battle and being kept away from the Citadel proper to keep young, impressionable youths from hearing about them. Donnar picked up where Alagh had left off, and lectured Barak for what seemed like years about the bad aspects of the Kudjargh. His words, however, fell on deaf ears. Barak had fallen in love with the stories, and was in no way going to be dissuaded from his dream.

For the next 9 years, Barak spent less and less of his time at the training grounds and more and more time with the Battle Ragers. Within 3 years, he had stopped coming home completely and spent all of his time with them at their barracks. Drinking, brawling, and occasionally going down to Raven’s Bluff to cause a ruckus at whichever tavern was unlucky enough to have them wander in that night. Often times, they ended up in the city brig for a day or two. During his 8^th year in their company, he was made an honorary member of their order. (Or disorder, as it were) Initiation involved drinking, tattooing, and some ritualistic scarring followed by a battle royale in the barracks. (Just fists and bits of furniture, nothing too lethal) Afterwards, he visited his father to tell him of his successful initiation, and upon seeing his scarred, tattooed, battle-hardened, booze-smelling body, Donnar realized that he had no hope of dissuading Barak from his life as a Battle Rager and resolved to simply accept it.

Alagh returned from his studies abroad in 1369, and resumed spending time with Barak. Barak even dragged Alagh to the Kudjargh’s barracks once much to Alagh’s torment; as he simply couldn’t keep up with their drinking and brawling. After about a year however, a new wave of discontent washed over Barak. What fun was being a Kudjargh if he wasn’t out in the world fighting? He wanted battle, he wanted treasure, he wanted glory, he wanted adventure. He talked about his desire with Alagh, who was growing bored with the lack of new knowledge in the Citadel. After some time, an agreement was reached. Plans were made, supplies were gathered, and in 1371 DR, they both set off into the world, looking for adventure.

Name: Alagh Onyxtear

Father: Donnar Onyxtear

Mother: Dauble Onyxtear

Siblings: Barak Onyxtear

D.O.B.: Flamerule 17, 1311 DR

P.O.B.: Citadel Hulrand, the Vast; Home to the Greenrock Clan

Little other than the name of his mother is known regarding the birth of Alagh, firstborn of Donnar Onyxtear, as matters regarding birth, gestation, and females in general are very taboo amongst the dwarves. All the same, none feel that they are worse off not knowing... Donnar’s original hopes for his firstborn were quite usual for a mountain-dwelling dwarf; he wanted a smith, a miner, and a warrior. A son to make his family proud, honorable... and cliche. This however, was not to be.

For Alagh’s first 26 years of life, his father attempted to turn him into the son he wanted. He would bring Alagh to help in the mines, taught him to forge weapons, and attempted to teach him the finer arts of battle. Unfortunately, Alagh simply lacked the natural strength necessary to be an effective miner or warrior. He did, however, exhibit some small talent with crossbows, and for that at least, Donnar was happy. All the while, however, (whenever the chance presented itself, actually) Alagh snuck away to observe and mingle with the few scholars of the hold in the great library of the citadel. He was fascinated by knowledge. He thirsted for it; dreamt of it; thought about it ceaselessly. If he could get the time, he would spend hours on end talking (listening, mostly) to the scholars and reading anything and everything he could. Yet, of all the things he read about, nothing intrigued him more that the mystical forces of magic. Tales of mighty wizards, cunning sorcerers, righteous clerics, and tranquil druids fascinated him to no end. During his 15^th year, he asked his father about magic, he was met with a furious lecture fit to sate the conversational hunger of the most bored of brass dragons. Donnar would have none of this mystical, wavy-handed, nonsense from Alagh, and resolved to haul Alagh into the mines (bodily if necessary) every day for the next thirty years to break those "muddled thoughts."

Fortunately for Alagh, a second son, Barak was born to his mother during his 16^th year (1327 DR). Barak showed great strength and hardiness almost from birth, and by his tenth year (1337 DR), Donnar’s attention had become completely diverted to this new promise of having his hopes for a son fulfilled. Alagh silently thanked Barak for the unintentional gift he had given him, and resumed his previous habits of learning and delved deeper into the magic he had grown to love. He never forgot why he was free to study what he loved, and spent any time he wasn’t studying with Barak as a sort of thanks for the gift he had unknowingly given him.

One of the scholars, a cleric of Dugmaren Brightmantle named Thurm Diamondheart took a keen interest in Alagh’s thirst for magical knowledge. He would engage him in hours of discussion and lecture regarding magic and religion, which Alagh had also had more than a passing interest in up to this point. They soon became close friends. After 5 years of study, intrigue, discovery, and persistent requests by Alagh for Thurm to teach him the ways of being a cleric, Thurm agreed, and formally admitted Alagh as his pupil. (1342 DR)

At this time, Alagh thought it finally safe to reveal to his father his intentions. Curiously enough, Donnar seemed only mildly frustrated, and of all things, proud of Alagh. Upon seeing Alagh’s surprise at this reaction, Donnar admitted that he had, unbeknownst to Alagh, observed him in the great library, that he knew of Alagh’s hunger for knowledge, magical and mundane, and had drawn similarities between that hunger and his own desire for all things metal and stone. Relieved and greatly bewildered by his father’s words, Alagh excitedly began his training under Thurm.

Alagh trained diligently for 14 years under Thurm’s guidance, and on Shieldmeet, 1356 DR, was formally inducted into the Xothar (Clerics of Dugmaren Brightmantle. Literally "those who seek knowledge")

The times he spent with Barak involved mostly him telling Barak stories of wars that he had read about, but simply passing on what he had learned wasn’t enough for him. He wanted more. Simply moving knowledge about in his head was not enough. He wanted something new.

Despite his new gateway into the world of magic, Alagh knew enough about it that he would only ever work the magic of the divine, and was unsatisfied. He thirsted for more, and often joked that he was a victim of his knowledge. "The problem with knowledge is that the more you know, the more you know you don’t know" became a sort of catch phrase for him. Often times he mused to himself that he was fortunate to be a follower of Dugmaren, for many other deities would regard his near single-minded search for knowledge as neglect for the faith. Nonetheless, he strove to learn more. Nearly all of his time was spent in the great library, and within another 4 years, he had at least skimmed through every book within it. Only slightly discouraged, he decided to travel to Raven’s Bluff, a nearby adventurer city to find a tutor in the ways of the arcane arts. (1360 DR)

After a bit of searching and persistence amidst sneers of "a dwarf wizard?" he found a willing tutor. And old, marginally senile human item creator by the name of Archipernicus "Archie" Edistein. He at first laughed at Alagh and jokingly agreed, but after some small talk he realized that Alagh was sincere in his devotion to magic. Archie agreed to teach him the Art in exchange for his services as a weaponsmith and of all things, a cook. (Alagh had picked up a few recipes delving through some old cookbooks in the library.) The deal proved highly beneficial by both parties, as Alagh finally had a gateway into the world of the arcane, and Archie greatly benefited financially from having free weaponry forged for his enchantments to be sold to adventurers and having decent meals cooked for him on a daily basis.

For 9 years Alagh studied under Archie. Fortunately, his previous studies had given him enough insight into the Art that actually practicing it came fairly easily. The relationship between Archie and Alagh never progressed much further than a business/ student –mentor relationship, but trust and respect for each other’s abilities grew greatly. Once his training was complete, Alagh bid Archie farewell. Upon departing, Archie offered to teach him more if he would stay and continue their previous arrangement, but Alagh politely refused, but said that sometime in the future he may return to take Archie up on his offer.

(1369 DR) He returned home to share his experiences with his family. His father listened, and poked a few friendly jokes at him for being a "spindly magicker." He resumed visiting with Barak, somewhat unsurprised by the fact that Barak had joined the Kuldjargh, as Alagh had been the one to tell him about them. For two more years, he stayed within the Citadel, spending time with Barak and refining his magical skills. But while he was there, he became extremely irritated at the agonizingly slow rate that new knowledge filtered into the Citadel. He considered going out and looking for it himself, but knew that alone, he stood little chance of even surviving the life of an adventurer. He saw his opportunity when Barak mentioned that he too, was growing tired of life in the Citadel. They talked, plotted, discussed, and finally agreed to leave and seek adventure. Plans were made, supplies were gathered, and in 1371 DR, they both set off into the world, looking for adventure.